Two years ago, the National Conservative Political Action Committee was
the scourge of the left, spending at least $1.2 million to help sweep
away such liberal luminaries as Senators Frank Church, Birch Bayh, John
Culver and George McGovern. Scenting total victory, NCPAC Chairman
Terry Dolan immediately announced a 1982 hit list of 20 Senators,
including such improbable targets as Pat Moynihan of New York and Ted
Kennedy of Massachusetts. Political realities eventually shrank the
list to five, but NCPAC still raised $10 million and spent $4.5 million
in the 1982 elections. Yet last...